When sophomore Lucero Garcia of Riverside Rubidoux died after collapsing at soccer practice on Jan. 6, her community also stepped to the plate. No one has money set aside for a child's funeral, but about $10,000 has been raised to help cover the expense of her burial.
Perhaps the spirit of giving in this year of loss was showcased most prominently on Monday when two of the nation's top-ranked girls basketball teams played each other to donate event proceeds to the family of Tony Matson, the Orange Lutheran girls basketball coach who died in April after being stricken with a heart attack. Universally liked and respected, he was 44.
He had been an assistant at Brea Olinda, and had coached in the same league as Mater Dei. Yet, it made no sense for the two schools to play each other now. Mater Dei was ranked No. 1 in the nation, Brea was No. 3; they are close enough that they compete for the same elite athletes, and they are expected to play in March in the Southern California Regional finals.
Yet Brea coach Jeff Sink and Mater Dei coach Kevin Kiernan put aside personal agendas to play a mega-game for the benefit of Matson's widow, Heidi, and three school-age daughters.
"Your sacrifice isn't lost on me," said Matson's widow, Heidi, as she spoke before tip-off of Brea's 47-43 upset of Mater Dei.
Although a total isn't yet available, the game should clear several thousand to help Heidi and her three daughters make ends meet. "Life insurance wasn't enough to pay off the house, so we're still dealing with all the same bills we had, but now we're a single-income family," Heidi Matson said, holding back tears. "It's stressful on top of having my heart crushed and trying to find a way to live through it. It's like, 'OK, I gotta provide for these three kids, I gotta find a way.' "
A marriage family therapist who concedes like many Californians that "it's a terrible time to find a full-time job," Heidi Matson is returning to school to get another master's degree to be able to work on a university campus with youth in some fashion.
"God has been totally faithful," she said, "and I have no reason to doubt that he will not take care of us tomorrow because he's taken care of us today and he took care of us yesterday," she said.
Her story since the stunning death of her husband is testament to the good will they developed in their various communities: Basketball, church, school, friends, work.
Yet in Rubidoux, where there are fewer BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes, the community also rose to the occasion. Without a showcase event like Brea-Mater Dei, families dug deep in their own pockets to help Garcia's family. Volunteers passed a bucket to take whatever could be offered; it happened at soccer matches and a wrestling tournament, and combined with some car washes it showed that every little bit helps.
"When people started helping out in the cause, and you started adding it up, it was like, 'Oh my God, this is an unbelievable amount,' " said Rubidoux athletic director Ed Luna. "It just shows where people's hearts really are.
"We had families that didn't have a lot of money but worked for hours to help us. A local salon donated $600, our sister school (Riverside Patriot) raised over $700, they passed the bucket on the last day of the wrestling championship and raised more than $700."
For the Garcia family, the loss of their 16-year-old daughter came about a week after losing Lucero's grandfather. Prior to the first game following Lucero's death, her father was presented the girl's framed jersey and block R, and the mother a white rose from each member of the team. Notre Dame players gave each Falcon player a rose.
"It made me so proud to be from this area and this school," Luna said. "We're in a very low economic area, and a lot of people don't have a lot of positive things to say about this area, but it goes to show when push comes to shove, they pull together."
The same thing happened in Garden Grove in the fall. Telles, 17, collapsed in the fourth quarter of a football game against Westminster and died later that night. By the next day, freshman football player Christian Wisnieski had secured a location at a local IHOP and engineered a carwash that raised more than $4,000. "He did it all on his own, nobody helped him out," football coach Joe Hay said. Coupled with other efforts, some from other schools, donations and the sale of apparel that commemorated Telles' memory, about $11,000 was given to Telles' family.
"It was amazing, all the schools that made contributions," said Ralph Stevens, the Garden Grove athletic director. "It's not something you can expect to happen, and it says a lot about their coaches and their players, too"
The wonder and amazement reflected by those such as Stevens and Luna, is also reflected by those living with the loss. Before Mater Dei's Meruelo Events Center nearly reached capacity, Heidi Matson talked about what the outpouring meant to her. She may well have been speaking for all who are in similar situations.
"Really, it is like an expression of God's mercy personified," Heidi Matson said. "No one can deserve this. Tony was a great man and we strive to be good, but nobody deserves this amount of love and outpouring. It's an expression of God's goodness in people, his care for us and his faithufulness. That's what it means to me."
To contribute:
Lucero Vidiana Garcia-Ronces Fund
c/o Wells Fargo, 8330 Limonite Ave., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92509
Contact: Julio Medina, 951-727-2160
Kevin Telles Memorial Fund
Wells Fargo account # 7320012912
The Matson Memorial Fund
c/o Rose Drive Friends Church
4221 Rose Drive, Yorba Linda, CA 92886